October 19, 2016

Embodied Inequality: Unpacking the Impact of Race & Racism on Health Structural Competency: A New Paradigm for Addressing Race and Racisms in Medicine

When: October 19, 2016, 2:00 - 3:30pm

Where: UIC College of Pharmacy, Auditorium Room 134-2
833 S. Wood St.

About the Talk : The "cultural competency" approach and other medical models that emphasize cross-cultural understanding of patients are limited. Many health-related factors previously attributed to culture or ethnicity in interactions between doctors and patients also represent the downstream consequences of racial dynamics, such as impoverished transit or food delivery systems, oppressive zoning decisions, or the pernicious effects of institutional racisms. This talk will focus on how the "structural competency" model and movement offers a new paradigm and approach to healthcare that can address the larger impact of race and racism in health.

About the Speaker : Jonathan Metzl is the Frederick B. Rentschler II Professor of Socioloogy and Psychiatry, and the Director of the Center for Medicine, Health, and Society, at Vanderbilt University. A 2008 Guggenheim fellow, Professor Metzl has written extensively for medical, psychiatric, and popular publication. His books include The Protest Psychosis, Prozac on the Couch, and Against Health: How Health Became the New Morality.

About the Series : Building on important work that has documented extensive health disparities, this inter-disciplinary lecture series will explore why race is so consequential for health outcomes. Sessions will focus on a range of topics including how race matters for access to healthcare and healthcare delivery, how structural and interpersonal racism impact mental, emotional, and physical health, and how scholars, practitioners, and community groups can intervene to improve health outcomes for vulnerable communities.